Camp Bison - Burwash Correctional Centre
Camp Bison, which is the familiar name for the correctional center located here, is actually Burwash Industrial Farm or Burwash Correctional Centre. Camp Bison was one of the sections of the jail which wasn’t bulldozed in 1994, long after it was closed and abandoned by the government when their policies changed regarding prisoners and work.
Burwash industrial farm was a self sufficient correctional institution situated on 35,000 acres of scenic farmland, lakes and woodlands where the inmates actually grew their own produce and raised cattle. Policy changes affecting prisoners and whether they should be allowed to work while incarcerated changed this and the facility closed in 1973 after being open since 1914.
The prison not only was self sufficient for the needs of all the inmates and staff, it also sold the produce it developed and the area had its own post office, church, school, barber/tailor/shoe repair shops and a Laundromat, power generation plant as well as a slaughterhouse (obviously) saw mill (logging was also done here) a dump, a 20 bed hospital as well as cemetery. Most of the prisoners at Burwash corrections were non-violent offenders, with one guard, Ira Sefton Smith killed at the site by inmate in 1959 since its opening in 1914. The jail housed most of its inmates in cells with wooden doors, and you could move throughout the complex without having to bypass many double locked doors as in other maximum facility prisons where personal security is much more of an issue. The communal showers had a wonderful view of the surrounding area and the entire area from where the train station would drop off the inmates to the 5 km walk to where the prison was can be described as ‘picture postcard’ beautiful. The crossing where one can basically drive and then has to walk the rest of the way is already a few kilometers inside the property itself which is now controlled by the DnD. Depending on weather and your vehicle, you can drive into the location if the road isn’t flooded out, or you can walk. Freight trains seems to run through the area regularly, which is where the old Burwash station was located. The train was the only means of accessing the prison when it was operational, before highway 69 was built and provided access to the property.
Burwash Industrial farm is the most remote location we have ever been to, and for that reason we were not expecting the placed to be more trashed then locations we have been to in downtown Toronto. However there was extensive damage to the buildings. At first we assumed maybe the prisoners came back to trash the place, but we quickly realized that drunken locals were just coming here and starting fires and having parties. Much of the place is trashed beyond repair with no a single piece of ceramic piece left intact anywhere n the facility, except for the showers which seemed to be wholly intact. The atmosphere of the jail is somewhat creepy just because all the windows are knocked out and the drafts randomly slam doors throughout the building surprising you as you are walking through. We did find a few metal doors hidden in the corners of facility where they must have placed inmates for ‘time out’. The light is wonderful in the place, but its well past it due date for being photogenic. Recent fires and more partying at the location seem to have just made the place a total mess not even ideal for squatting since 2007 when we visited. Although who would want to squat in the middle of nowhere anyhow?
Additional Useful Burwash Links as well as historical photos found online in a now defunkt msn group.
Additional Burwash Resources :
http://burwash.ontario.tripod.com/
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 8:28 am and is filed under Institutional. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Colleen September 6th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I think I have a picture of a group of us sitting outside one of the doors.